If I Stay : A Story of Family, Love, Loss, and Hope

        Once upon a time, there was a family of four. There was the rock star-turned-to-a-teacher Denny, the cool Kat, the cellist Mia, and the cute Teddy. On a frigid morning, they decided to go somewhere until a heartbreaking road accident happened. 

           This is the beginning of the story...

    Mia Hall woke up seeing everything that happened after the accident. She knew that instant that her parents are DOA. She saw her body being lifted by the team of paramedics. She hoped that her little brother, Teddy would survive.

         Once upon a time, there was girl named Mia Hall and a boy called Adam Wilde. 

           This is the beginning of their love story...

       Mia is a typical girl whose passion in music is evident as she plays her cello. She always wants to do solo practice. A boy named Adam used to watch her practice. Adam is a rock star type of guy who plays guitar and leads the band called Shooting Star. 

      One day, Adam invited Mia to one of a kind classical music concert in which her favorite cellist, Yo-Yo Ma would perform. This began their knock-me-off-my-feet-but-cool type of relationship.

        Once upon a time, Teddy couldn't hold anymore and joined his parents to where they're supposed to go. A lot of family members and friends tried to visit her and encouraged her to live. As Mia witnessed all these poignant events, she heard a lot of things. Some of which, "This girl would be an orphan." or this, "This is up to you now." 

       This is the beginning of Mia's moment to choose: to be with Denny, Kat, and Teddy or to stay...

       To be with her family: Gramps said, "It's okay if you want to go. Everyone wants you to stay. I want you to stay more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. But that's what I want and I could see why it might not be what you want. So I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go. It's okay if you have to leave us. It's okay if you want to stop fighting."

       To stay: Adam said, "If you stay, I'll do whatever you want. I'll quit the band, go with you to New York. But if you need me to go away, I'll do that, too. I was talking to Liz and she said maybe coming back to your old life would just be too painful, that maybe it'd be easier for you to erase us. And that would suck, but I'd do it. I can lose you like that if I don't lose you today. I'll let you go. If you stay."

           Mia chose to stay. 

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          If I Stay novel is definitely a book that deserves to be read over and over again not because its message is hard to decipher but because it teaches us to love what we do, to value what we have, and to fight for the ones we love.